Tongue-supporter.



J. JENSEN.

TONGUE SUPPORTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24. 1914.

Patented Apr 20, 1915.

Inventor,

Attorneys THE NORRIS PETERS C11. PHOTO-L|THO.. WASHINGTUN. D. C.

hlhll JIM JENSEN, OF ELK HORN, IOWA.

TONGUE-SUPPORTER.

Application filed September 24, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JIM JENSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elk Horn, in the county of Shelby and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Tongue- Supporter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a tongue supporter for vehiclesand is more particularly designed as an improvement upon the structure disclosed in Patent No. 1,087,379, issued to me on February 17, 1914.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means entirely under the tongue for supporting said tongue in raised position, said means being shiftable readily by a person standing at the outer or forward end of the tongue and who is engaged in elevating the tongue and holding it in elevated position prior to the engagement thereof with the supporter.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will-appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a vehicle tongue lowered, as when resting at its forward end upon the ground. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the tongue when raised above normal position prior to being placed in engagement with its supporter. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 2 and showing the tongue lowered into engagement with the supporter and held thereby. Fig. 4: is a perspective view of that portion of the supporter adapted to be secured to the tongue.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference A designates the front axle of a vehicle having tongue supporting arms B extending forwardly therefrom. A pivot Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Serial No. 863,335.

bolt 1 connects these arms and mounted on the bolt and between the arms is a tongue 2. Brackets 3 are secured to the front face of the axle A by means of U-bolts 4 or the like and hingedly connected to these brackets are links 5 connected at their forward ends by a bolt 6. This bolt is connected to the bolt 1 by one or more coiled springs 7 so that the links 5 are thus held normally at predetermined angles to the arms B, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Pivotally connected to the bolt 6 so as to extend between the links 5 is a supporting strip 8 provided, at its free end, with a forwardly extending arm 9 overhung by a finger 10, said finger being shorter than the arm so that a recess or socket 11 is thus produced between the finger and arm.

Fitted against the lower face of the vehicle tongue 2 is a base plate '12, this plate being clamped to the tongue by means of bolts 13 extending through the corner portions of the plate and also through a supporting plate 1 1 bearing upon the upper face of the tongue 2. Side pieces 15 extend downwardly from the base plate 12 and are connected by a cross bolt 16. These side pieces have depending arms 17 connected by a cross bolt 18.

Pivotally mounted on the end portions of the bolt 18 is a lifting bail 19 extending rearwardly from the arms 17 and under the strip 8. An arm 20 is formed integral with the bail and an actuating cord 21 or the like extends from the arm 20 and forwardly to the front end of the tongue 2 where it can be grasped and manipulated by a person holding the end of the tongue 2.

When the front end of tongue 2 is resting on the ground, the forward portion of the strip 8 is bearing downwardly on the bolt 18 and is extended under the bolt 16, as shown in Fig. 1. As this strip 8 is pivoted on the bolt 6 at a point below the pivot 1 of the tongue 2, it will be obvious that when said tongue is swung upwardly about its pivot bolt 1, the bolt 18 will slide forwardly under the strip 8 and at the same time bolt 16 will pass from its position over the finger 10 and will be brought to position beyond the end of said finger and directly over the arm 9, as shown in Fig. 2. These relative positions of the parts are assumed when the tongue 2 is moved upwardly past its active or substantially horizontal position. As soon as the tongue is brought to this position, the person holding the forward end of the tongue pulls on the cord or actuating element 21 and thus causes the lifting bail 19 to press upwardly against the strip 8.

i This results in'said strip being lifted off of the bolt 18 and the arm 9 being pressed upwardly against the bolt 16. While the pressure of the bail 19 against the strip 8 is continued, the tongue 2 is lowered and as the relative positions of the strip 8 and bolt 16 thus change, said bolt will move along the arm 9 and into the recess or socket 11 to the position shown in Fig. 3. -Thus when the tongue '2 is released, further downward movement thereof will be resisted by the spring 7 which thus constitutes a yielding support for the tongue.

When it is desired to lower the tongue 2 to the ground, said tongue is first elevated to the position shown in Fig. 2, the op erating element 21 being, released. As soon asthe bolt 16 passes from under the finger 10 when the parts are brought to the positions shown in Fig. 2, the strip 8 will gravitate so as to bring arm 9 onto the bolt 18. Tongue 2 can then be swung downwardly to the ground, the parts returning to the positions illustrated in Fig. 1.

It will be obvious that the supporter herein described can be applied readily to different vehicle tongues without requiring any changes in the construction of the vehicle.

l/Vhat is claimed is 1. A tongue supporter for vehicles, including pivotally mounted yieldingly supported members, a strip pivotally connected to said members and having an'arm at its free end and a finger overhanging the arm, said finger and arm cooperating to form a seat, a tongue pivotally mounted above the strip, means connected to the tongue for loosely supporting the strip, means carried by the tongue for engaging the seat to transfer a portion of the weight of the tongue through said strip to the yieldingly supported element, and means carried by and movable relative to the tongue for lifting the strip to position its seat for engagement by said last mentioned means.

2. The combination with a pivotally supported'tongue, and a yieldingly supported pivoted'element'thereunder, of a supporting strip pivotally connected to said element and having an arm and a finger overhanging the arm, said finger and arm cooperating to form aj'seat, means connected to the vehicle tongue for supporting said strip adj'acent thereto, means supported by the tongue for engagement with the seat on the supporting strip, and means carried by and movable relative to the tongue for shifting the supporting strip relative to the tongue to position its seat for en agement by said seat engaging means.

3. The combination with a pivotally mounted vehicle tongue, and a yieldingly supported pivoted element extending thereunder, of a supporting strip beneath the tongue and pivotally connected to said element, said strip having a seat, means connected to the vehicle tongue for supporting thestrip from the tongue, means carried by and movable relative to the tongue for lifting the strip off of the supporting means when the tongue is raised, and means supported by the vehicle tongue for engagement with the seat of the raised strip when the tongue is lowered, thereby to transmit a portion of the weight of the tongue to the yieldingly supported element.

4:. The combination with a pivotally mounted vehicle tongue, a yieldingly supported pivoted element extending under the tongue, and a strip pivotally connected to said element and having a seat adjacent its free end, means supported by the tongue for supporting said strip from the tongue, means carried by and movable relative to the tongue operated from a point remote from the strip for lifting said strip off of its supporting means when the tongue is raised, and means supported by the tongue for engaging the seat of the raised strip thereby to transmit a portion of the weight of the tongue to the yieldingly supported element.

5. The combination with a pivotally mounted vehicle tongue, a yieldingly supported pivoted element extending thereunder, and a strip pivotally connected to said element and having a forwardly extending arm and a finger overhanging the arm, said finger and arm cooperating to form a seat, of side members depending from the vehicle tongue, a supporting bolt connecting said members and holding the strip constantly assembled with the vehicle tongue, means connected to said side members for lifting the strip off of the supporting means, and means connecting the side members for entering the seat of the lifted strip when the tongue is lowered.

6. The combination with a pivotally mounted vehicle tongue, a yieldingly supported pivoted element extending thereunder, and a strip pivotally connected to said element and having a forwardly extending arm and a finger overhanging the arm, said finger and arm cooperating to form a seat, of side members depending from the vehicle tongue, a supporting bolt connecting said members and holding the strip constantly assembled with the vehicle tongue, a bail pivotally connected to the side members and extending under the strip, means for actuating the bail from a point remote therefrom to lift the strip off of its supporting means, and means connecting the side members for engaging; the seat on the lifted strip when the tongue is lowered.

In testimony that I claim the'foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JIM JENSEN.

Witnesses:

S. C. PEDERSEN, HANS CARs'rENsEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G." 

